The Reincarnation BookstoreThe Best Books on Reincarnation and Past Lives
Selected by Carol Bowman and the Moderators of the Past Life Forum

This is the place for finding and buying hand-picked books on:

-- past life therapy
-- children’s past lives and children’s spirituality
-- reincarnation as a universal and secular concept
-- near death experiences, life-between-life, and other related phenomena
-- ground-breaking theories and studies that validate past lives and reincarnation

This is a personal collection. Carol Bowman selects all the books, with input from the moderators of the Past Life Forum. They’re her favorites, books that are important to the field in one way or another. We've also included some very popular books that are good for people dipping into the past life field for the first time.

There's something here for everybody. If you’re a newcomer to past life and reincarnation readings, you’ll find recommendations for books that are accessible, well-written, and most suited for beginners.

If you’re a researcher or already have a large library of reincarnation books and are looking for something new, you’ll find little-known books, erudite philosophical compendiums and academic reports here too.

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Origins in a Personal Search
Carol Bowman, when conducting research for Children’s Past Lives and Return from Heaven, spent years hunting down all of the books she could find to help explain children's past life memories and how they work. All the principal source books for the writing of Children's Past Lives and Return from Heaven are included here. Stevenson's writings, a major source for Carol's research, are included in a special section devoted to the books of Dr. Ian Stevenson.

Carol did the same as she developed her skill in past life regression and sought out the best writings on the meaning and methods of past life therapy. Those books are here too.

The collection is rounded out with a few stand-out books on spirituality, and especially those that help explain the underlying psychological and spiritual dynamics of reincarnation and past life memories. It's an eclectic, personal mix.

Books and the Past Life Forum
Carol and Steve Bowman first put up the Reincarnation Bookstore in early 1997 to call attention to the books that support and enhance the ideas in Children’s Past Lives. (Interesting fact: We were actually one of the first websites to sign on to the Amazon Associates program.)

Over the years this website, and especially the Past Life Forum, have eclipsed our original conception. The discussions in the Forum have become a vibrant source of information on the best books on reincarnation and past lives and a true resource in its own right.

We have a special section on the Forum devoted just to books.

The Forum moderators and some of the more active members of the Past Life Forum contribute suggestions and titles to the Reincarnation Bookstore. It’s not just Carol’s list any more. It’s a community project.

Enriched by Amazon.com
We don’t actually sell books here. We don’t have a shopping cart or take money. Instead, every title is linked directly to the appropriate book page on Amazon.com for purchase. Amazon.com makes it easy.

Amazon.com also provides extensive information on every title, including customer reviews. There’s no way we could duplicate their rich resources, so we’re happy to provide direct links.

Buy Books, Support the Past Life Forum
When you click one of our links to buy a book on Amazon.com, we get a small commission on your purchase. You do not pay a penny extra (it’s a marketing expense for Amazon). These commissions are what pay the bills here, and go directly to support hosting and maintenance of the Reincarnation Bookstore and Past Life Forum (which is free for all members).

By the way, when you click through our links we get a commission on anything you put in your Amazon shopping cart within 24 hours and that you purchase within 30 days. You do not have to buy the actual book you clicked on for us to get the payment, so long as you buy something.

Please help support the Forum by clicking through the Reincarnation Bookstore when you’re intending to buy something on Amazon. Click through any link for any book we list here and then go shopping. You can also click on any of the generic Amazon.com buttons we include on every page in the Past Life Forum. The buttons look like this:

Recommend Books to Us
Carol is always interested in hearing about good books. If you've read a book that you think should be included here, email Carol. You can also post a recommendation in the book section of the Forum and initiate a discussion. The moderators will pass on the recommendation to Carol.

Special hardback book offer:
You can buy an autographed hardback copy of Return from Heaven or Children's Past Lives directly from Carol. The hardback editions of both are out of print and Carol's personal stash is the only source for them now. (The paperbacks are readily available, of course.) Details here.

Contents
Dr. Ian Stevenson books and research (a separate page)

Books of Carol Bowman (below)

Books of Roger Woolger

Books of Brian Weiss

Books of Michael Newton

Books on children's past life memories by other authors

Other books (adult past lives, spirituality)

Featured Author: Carol Bowman

Children's Past Lives: How Past Life Memories Affect Your Child

This is Carol's first book, published in 1997. It's the first and only book that explains the implications of children's spontaneous past life memories for parents and families. There's full information, including chapter excerpts, extra photos and images, here.

Return From Heaven: Beloved Relatives Reincarnated Within Your Family
Carol's second book that describes, for the first time anywhere, the phenomenon of same family reincarnation. It was published in 2001. You'll find more information here.

Featured Author: Dr. Roger Woolger
Roger was one of Carol's first teachers. He remains a major influence on her work, and a friend.

His books are recommend for anyone interested in past life regression therapy, and required reading for anyone serious about becoming a past life regression therapist. We've posted a number of Dr. Woolger's articles in the Library. He still is an active trainer offering regular workshops in past life therapy. His website is www.RogerWoolger.com, with more books, articles, and information on his workshops.

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Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past LivesDr. Woolger is one of the leading theorists and practitioners of past life therapy. His awesome intellect synthesizes ideas from many sources, including conventional psychology, Buddhist and yogic thought, and his own years of clinical experience as a past life therapist. He merges all into a cogent theory and explanation that is accessible to any intelligent reader. Other Lives, Other Selves, is the most comprehensive introduction I've seen to the psychological depths of past life regression.

We've put several excellent articles and an interview with Dr. Woolger in the library of articles.

Featured author: Dr. Michael Newton
Dr. Newton's books are very popular. They describe an ordered world in the between life state, where souls receive instructions from their guides. Carol has taken his training and is certified in his Life Between Life ("LBL") method.

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Journey Of Souls
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Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives
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Life Between Lives

Featured author: Dr. Brian Weiss
Dr. Weiss has done more to popularize past life regression than any other author.

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Many Lives, Many Masters

The subtitle reads (no kidding!): "The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives"

A great introduction to past life therapy to the skeptic or the inquisitive reader. Psychiatrist Brian Weiss' credentials are impeccable, and his story is completely credible. An easy and enjoyable read.

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Through Time Into Healing
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Only Love Is Real: A Story of Soulmates Reunited

Books on Related Topics

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You Have Been Here Before: A Psychologist Looks At Past Lives
Edith Fiore

A primer in past life regression therapy. The transcripts of the cases in the book give the reader a glimpse of what a past life regression is like. This is a classic in the field.

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Soul Trek: Meeting Our Children on the Way to Birth
Elizabeth Hallett

Carol says that if she had known of this important book when she was writing Children's Past Lives, she would have certainly used it as a source. Soul Trek is the first in-depth study of contact and communication from children before birth, even before conception. Based on actual reports from parents, it explores the full range of pre-birth communication. Like children's past life memories, pre-birth communication gives evidence that children approaching the womb door are much more aware and involved than we normally give them credit for.
A review of Soul Trek:
"There's really nothing new about a mother communicating with her child before its birth; it's just that no one has ever documented the fact so exhaustively. This book demonstrates the pervasiveness of a phenomenon that is just as intriguing as near-death experiences. I found it impossible to put down; personal accounts of many women (and a few men) tell of encounters with their children before birth, even before conception! What is remarkable is the variety of ways in which parents received communication; some had vivid dreams, others visions, some just a strange feeling. The loveliest aspect of these stories is the voices of the children: agonizingly pure, but with an earthy practicality... Mysterious, joyful, and touching." -- NAPRA ReView

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Beyond the Ashes: Cases of Reincarnation from the Holocaust
Rabbi Yonassan Gershom

Accounts of Jews and non-Jews who sought out Rabbi Gershom because of their puzzling memories of dying in the Holocaust. The Rabbi shares his advice to those with memories, and gives an overview of Jewish beliefs on the afterlife.

This two-volume set is the most comprehensive work on past life regression therapy to date, and a must for any professional in the field. Dr. Lucas is one of the original founders of the field of past life therapy.

Regression Therapy a Handbook for Professionals: Past-Life Therapy
A one-volume and more recent version of the larger work.

Simcha Paull Raphael

Jewish Views of the Afterlife
Comprehensive survey of Jewish beliefs of the afterlife. It's expensive, but covers ground that is not easily available anywhere else.

From a review:
“Most Jews are under the mistaken impression that Judaism does not believe in an afterlife. This is not so, and in fact Jewish texts preserve a rich tradition of how this concept has been understood and taught throughout Jewish history. This book is an excellent introduction and overview of how the afterlife is viewed in The Torah, The Talmud, the medieval works, the Midrash and the books of the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). One of its special features is that many medieval Jewish texts are presented here for the first time in English!”

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The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Re-Discovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India
Rodger Kamenetz

Highly recommended if you're interested in comprehending the similarities between Buddhism and mystical Judaism.

From a review in Booklist:
"Kamenetz, a poet and a Jew, was invited to attend and write about a historical meeting between a delegation of American Jews and a group of Tibetan Buddhists that included the Dalai Lama. This interfaith get-together was inspired, in part, by the increasing number of Jews who have become Buddhists as well as the Dalai Lama's perception of Jews as "survival experts." The Dalai Lama felt that the Jews, experts in exile and the preservation of faith and practice, would offer advice and comfort; participating rabbis were intrigued by the surprising similarities between the two religions, including esoteric traditions and a profound awareness of suffering. Kamenetz not only chronicles the resultant discussions, which proved to be enlightening and emotional, but also profiles a number of Jewish Buddhists, including Allen Ginsberg and Ram Dass."